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(Aug. 18, 2014) -- Commissioner Steve Novick and Transportation Director Leah Treat invite the news media to join them on Tuesday, Aug. 19 on a van tour of Portland’s maintenance and safety needs as part of the Our Streets PDX transportation funding conversation. The tour will showcase busy streets that lack sidewalks and a commercial corridors in need of preventive maintenance. On Tuesday, they will also unveil The Portland Transportation Needs Guidebook, an online compilation of the maintenance and safety needs identified by the Portland Bureau of Transportation and prioritized by community input over the years.

The tour will make three stops: in East Portland, at SE Hawthorne and at SW Capitol Highway. At each location, community advocates have been invited to describe basic, unmet transportation safety and maintenance that needs that have a direct impact on neighborhood livability.

News media are invited to join the tour or meet the group along the way.

FOR NEWS MEDIA TO RESERVE A PLACE IN A VAN: Contact Bryan Hockaday, Commissioner Novick’s Office, 503-823-1059. Space is limited and available on a first come basis.

WHO: Commissioner Novick, Director Treat, community leaders from across the city

10 a.m. Tour begins at SE 130th Ave. and Salmon Street, at a crosswalk near David Douglas High School ball fields

10:45 a.m. Tour begins at SE Hawthorne Blvd. and 36th Ave., north side of the intersection.

11:45 a.m. Tour begins at SW Capitol Highway and Garden Home, at the bus stop on the east side of Capitol Highway.

Expected return to City Hall at 1 p.m.

VISUALS:

Neighborhood and community advocates standing by busy streets, showing where sidewalks end near a school, describing how a lack of sidewalks and safe crossings affects the day-to-day lives of everyday people.

The city engineer will stand at busy Hawthorne Boulevard, where cracked asphalt indicates a need for repaving.

A scene on SW Capitol Highway, where high-speed traffic, and a lack of sidewalks and bike lanes cut off access to the Multnomah Village shopping district.

Staff will show how the safety and maintenance issues at each location are identified in maps and other materials found in The Portland Transportation Needs Guidebook, an online compilation of resources that will be launched on Tuesday and available at www.OurStreetsPDX.com/Needs.

WHY: For more than a year, Mayor Hales and Commissioner Novick have been calling for more investment in the transportation system to address longstanding maintenance and safety needs as well as counteract diminishing resources from the gas tax. Since January, the Mayor and Commissioner have asked the public for input on transportation priorities and options for raising money. They expect to have a proposal for City Council to consider in November.